After a few days of sun-seeking and blowing off the cobwebs, temps are finally into the teens and we can start “Boldly going…” Though it’s an effort to tear ourselves away from the campsite…

There are at least a dozen new crags in the latest guidebooks (inevitably some of them have a long approach or drive, or are simply too hard!) but we’re hoping to get to as many as possible.

First up: Yellow Eyes. This stunning crag is clearly visible from the main road which runs up the valley, but it is perched at around 700m! Access is via a winding drive of around 30mins, up past Twin Caves and Balcony (warning – use the guidebook instruction rather than simply following Google maps!) You eventually turn off left to follow a reasonable if precipitous dirt track downwards for a couple of km to limited parking. From here the path is exceptionally well marked (there must have been a job lot of yellow squares!)

… and a very good and mostly level path (presumably ancient) leads in around 20mins to the crag.

It’s one of those characteristic Leonidio crags where an easier angled lower grey tier offers quality routes in the 5c-6b range, topped by a steeper orange broccoli / tufa wall for 40m rope-stretching extensions into the 7s – something for everyone!

We shared the crag with a friendly group from Colorado and a pair of Lithuanians. Shorts and shirtless despite the altitude.

Helen worked her way through a good selection of the initial 6a pitches, including Evzones, Savra and Kolasi (below)

I tried my hand at a couple of extensions including Evzones (7b or 6c+) up the tufa visible in the shot above Helen – the tufa section is disappointingly short lived, and hard to onsight (not so bad when you know where the holds are). No joy with Savra extension either (7a/b) but I did manage Papadiamantes, 7a, which unusually has the crux in the thin grey “slabby” section. Last to leave the crag by the light of a perfect full moon.

We were both a bit shattered the following day, having crammed it in for the previous five, but with a looming wet interlude I couldn’t bring myself to follow Helen’s good sense in declaring a rest day. We settled on “a bit of an explore and grab a route or two” at Olympos. This is another newish crag (2018) with a handy new approach from above. After negotiating quite a bumpy 3km of dirt road, you park in limited spots as for the approach to Jupiter (worth avoiding after rain or if it’s likely to be busy).

An ancient cobbled path (ultimately leading down to the town) heads down beneath Sector Blasphemia (top of photo below) to Olympos (on the left skyline) with stunning views down to the valley.

It’s a short approach but not for the faint-hearted. The final descent to the base of the crag is down a vertiginous drop with a few metal rungs and a knotted rope. Worth popping your harness on beforehand. Good spot to eye up the crag from – here’s a couple working the crag classic, Hola Ruben, 7a+

I “warmed up” or more accurately wore myself out on La Mina, 6c – a fun 3D adventure with a stupidly hard start. Any major ambitions for the day were swiftly recalibrated and I warmed back down again with the very good tufa tussle of Antibiotica, 6b. A good recce and partial rest!

Next day, Muppet Show looked a good option, above the Saint George chapel – visible on the left of the shot below and you can just about make out Yellow Eyes high on the hillside on the right.

It’s not obvious from the guidebook description, but the two sectors are actually separated by a couple of hundred metres and a bit of a bushwack.

There’s a decent, well marked path that leads up to the right hand crag, which looks fun, steep and featured but was already losing the sun by 11am.

We thrashed over to the left, which is better than it looks, and did Funny Muppets, 6a+, Adam Bowlingball, 6c, and Animal, 7a…

… before it too lost the sun around 1ish. There’s a cairned path down from the far end, but probably easier to just retrace your steps.

Fab views down the valley to the town, backed by the wall of Kokkinovrachos and up to Yellow Eyes on the left of the pic.

With a whole afternoon to spare, and Helen not particularly impressed with Muppet Show, we added Twin Caves into the mix for a two-crag day. Nice to bump into a bunch of locals making some early steps in their climbing careers on a busy Saturday. Helen made a sweep of most of the routes on the left wall, including Tsibouri, 6a. We were also treated to an impressive ascent of Stock (?) one of the 8b+ out of the right of the main cave…